HE will be returning near to a coastline he loves – with a brief to care for those in the inner city of Portsmouth.

Bishop Jonathan has appointed the Rev Alex Coakley-Youngs to be one of the new team vicars for Harbour Church, based at All Saints Church in Commercial Road, subject to DBS.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Alex and his wife Emma. Alex used to work in Gosport, spending three years based there sailing on the flagship of the Sea Cadets. Emma’s family are from Rowlands Castle and she used to be part of the congregation at St John the Baptist Church there.

Alex aims to minister effectively both to the teenagers, students and young adults who are part of Harbour Church’s contemporary congregations, and to faithful worshippers who are part of the traditional congregation at All Saints. He also wants to widen the church’s appeal to more of those who live locally.

“Part of the appeal of this post was that mix of contemporary and traditional worship,” he said. “I believe that God wants to grow his church in lots of ways, but that isn’t dependent on specific expressions of worship. It’s totally possible revitalise all styles of congregation. I want to be faithful to what has happened in this church over previous generations, as well as bringing something new to offer. That’s what excites me.”

Alex’s background is in working with young people. He originally came from Chorley in Lancashire and started life in the Roman Catholic church. He spent a gap year in sixth-form chaplaincy and did his degree in youth work.

He came to Gosport aged 19, to work as the bosun on TS Royalist based at Fort Blockhouse, teaching young people how to sail a square rigged sailing vessel. He then started working in Medway for the Christian charity Morning Star Trust as a skipper and youth worker from 2013. There he worked on Morning Star of Revelation which was the trust’s own tall ship. The organisation takes young people for life-changing sailing adventures, including offering experiences as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the international Tall Ships Races.

After some time working as a church youth minister in Kent, he returned to the Morning Star Trust as its executive director from 2017-20. In Alex’s time, they also offered sailing voyages to those who were homeless, addicted to substances, and not in education, employment or training.

He felt a call to ordination and trained at St Mellitus while also working as an operations manager at a church in Bognor Regis. He was ordained in 2022 and has been serving as curate at Christ Church, Dartford, in the Rochester diocese.

“It has been a great few years in Dartford, and a good chance to be trained in parish ministry,” he said. “The church has grown and it will be sad to leave. However, I love the vision of Portsmouth diocese, as it aligns with my own calling and the values of the Holy Trinity Brompton network that Harbour is part of.”

“I’m excited to see what God wants to do in the church and the community around it, and to see disciples created. I would love to see All Saints continue to grow as a local church for local people across the generations, as well as all those who come to the church from elsewhere around the city.”

Alex and Emma have a five-year-old son, Teddy who is looking forward to moving nearer the sea. They’ll also be closer to Emma’s parents Daphne and Raymond. The family also have two labradors, two cats and three chickens who will move with them. They also have a boat which is currently in Chichester Harbour, but which they hope to moor on Whale Island, near to their new home.

Bishop Jonathan expects to licence Alex on May 12.